#pastorbesties Vlog Episode 2!

#pastorbesties vlog!

UMCNIC15 Memorial Service Sermon

Memorial Service

First, I’d like to thank the Bishop and the worship team of the Annual Conference Committee for the invitation to preach at this, the Memorial Service of our Northern Illinois Annual Conference.  To say that I was a little intimidated when I received the phone call is probably an understatement & to be quite honest, I kept thinking that at some point someone would call & say, “#whoopsies...we made a mistake…” .. And as the notifications & funeral announcements continued to be sent for our friends, colleagues, members, & family, It was a reminder of the incredibly humbling task to reflect on the incredible service of these clergy & laity of the Northern Illinois Conference… And together we continue to remember those who have finished their course in faith… as we grieve...We also continue to look forward… To face the future together…. we remember & we move forward step by step…inch by inch...moment by moment...

Would you pray with me?  May the words of my mouth & the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our Rock & our Redeemer.  Amen.

In our passage from Exodus, it tells us where Moses’ grave is… outside of the Promised Land… A place that was probably physically known to most people at the time… And sometimes those physical reminders are what we need to remember…But there is much to remember about this story of Moses & the Israelites...

It had been quite an adventure for Moses & the Israelites leaving Egypt & heading towards the land that they had been promised… There were moments that some wanted to head back to Egypt & return to slavery because the journey ahead was hard & unknown… There were poisonous snakes along the way that they had to meander through… Total dependence on manna & quails from heaven as their food… There were golden calves & tablet throwing… There’s a lot that was packed into this story of Moses… For generations they wandered the desert with the hope that they would get to the place they had promised…

I have to think that in the moments where Moses felt the most lost or frustrated or annoyed or even the most doubtful… He held on to that promise from God of the place where the tribe would live & be… Not in slavery, but claimed as God’s chosen people… That’s enough to pull you out of bed in morning!  But then we come to the end of Moses’ life… and it’s here that we learn that Moses, himself, won’t be entering the promised land… I don’t know about you, but my heart just breaks for him… He had come so far & worked so hard… And sure made some mistakes & slip ups along the way… But I kind of want to tell God, “Hey, maybe don’t be such a jerk & let Moses in, please...K thanks, bye.”  But it doesn’t change & Moses dies...not entering the promised land… And there is grief & there is mourning…

It can be hard when someone that you love dies… Isn’t that the understatement of the decade… Even when a death is expected & even when a death is prayed for as a relief to the end of suffering and pain… when it actually happens, it can feel like the wind was knocked out of us… And as many books and articles and talks and counselors as there are to deal with grief & with loss, there is no one right way to grieve...Each journey is unique & we can hardly be adequately prepared for everything that we will feel along the way… In the swirly, twirly waves of grief… We feel our way through… Relying on touchpoints along the way…Physical places that we can point to or visit that help us to remember.  

Do ya’ll know when Christmas is?  And when Christmas is over?  I can feel all the theological/liturgical/church nerds screaming about the 12 days of Christmas now… And let’s be honest… if you’re at Annual Conference, you probably fall into one of those nerd categories… Well, May 8th was the day Christmas ended at my house…. Or well, that was when I took down my Christmas tree… Thank you for your affirmation & standing ovation at this amazing accomplishment of mine…. And for those of you who are judging me… Oh don’t you worry your pretty little heads, I judged myself enough every time I walked past it… I knew when I put up the tree, I was going to have a hard time taking it down… Some of it is that I just hate seeing the empty space there after it’s gone… Some if it is the tediousness of wrapping all the ornaments up and putting them away in the right boxes & containers… But in the last few years, it takes me longer & longer to take the tree down because of a particular ornament on the tree… 3 ½ years ago my best friend died… unexpectedly & it devastated me… And Christmas was her favorite season…. She bought me a Christmas tree to put in my dorm at college because she couldn’t bear the thought of anyone not having a tree no matter where they were!  And before I left for seminary, she bought us ornaments… Of the best friend variety… The ones where they’re two halves of a heart-- on one side it reads “best” and on the other side, “friends”... and it was a joke between us… we laughed at the silliness of it & yet the profoundness of our relationship… I have hung that ornament on my tree every year… And since her death, it gets harder & harder to take the tree down & not have that physical reminder of her presence, her laughter, and her passion for life…. Sometimes we need those physical reminders to help us to remember… For those of you here today to remember & honor your loved ones, you may have those physical reminders… a robe, a stole, a wedding ring, a casserole dish, a best friend ornament… Something that you look at & just remember…

In this passage about Moses’ death…it’s a time for remembrance… a time to grieve & mourn & remember… But this passage isn’t only about remembrance, which invites us to look back with love & nostalgia...This passage also pulls us forward even in the uncertainty… there is so much in this passage that contains hope for the future & reminders that we can’t stay forever in memory…The Israelites mourned for 30 days before they began to follow Joshua into the Promised Land just as Moses had commissioned Joshua to do…Because the end of the story isn’t a memory... Because there’s still so much more of the story to tell…

I think some details in this particular story about Moses are fascinating & surprising… But that’s the thing about Scripture-- it continually surprises & delights… It is full of hidden gems & we are constantly unfolding new understandings to what is contained in these stories of God & God’s people… And in this passage, as I was reading & studying & reflecting, there were details that I thought added & sometimes changed what I thought the point of the passage was… But in the end every detail pointed to a message of hope in the middle of everything.  

Moses, this 120 year old man… This leader, this prophet, this friend… he also had a few other things going for him… At least according to this passage…. His sight was unimpaired-- which often is a euphemism for how attractive someone is… So, he still looked good for 120 years old… he probably would have gotten a 2nd glance as he walked down the street & not just because he was Moses…. I’m sure he would have been someone’s #mcm (Man Crush Monday)... And it’s important that this is pointed out & recorded in this passage… It’s also important to be recorded that Moses hadn’t lost his vigor… Which is another euphemism...use your imagination… Sometimes Scripture is a little shocking, isn’t it?  These things are important to be pointed and recorded about Moses in his death… Why?? Why do we need to know these things, why do we still need to read them?  

I think buried in these details about Moses is a message of hope… Moses still had the capacity to continue the work to which he was called… The tribe could still be built… the legacy could still be passed on… The work could continue… And as Moses passed the mantle of authority on to Joshua, the work would continue… It would continue as the Tribe made their home in the Promised Land & continued to grow…The legacy of Moses’ leadership would continue through Joshua…

And in his grief, Joshua assumed the role that Moses had commissioned him for… To continue to lead the Israelite people into the Promised Land.  Carrying the legacy of Moses’ work with him… the laws in the ark...the stories that would be told for generations… These memories of Moses, his life, his work that would continue on through a new generation...And it has continued on...

As we read through the names of the saints who have died this past year, much has been done in the service of God & the Church.  Behind each of those names is a story of someone who has given all that they have to be faithful to their call as a servant of God.  The call from the waters of their baptism to work alongside God to build a future...  Their lives have inspired us, the mantles that they leave us to pick up & continue the work is the hope for the future...

The future is still on the horizon… It’s still there.  I don’t know if you have heard the statistics or read the reports, but there are a lot of numbers that tell us that the church is dying… There are a lot of panicked responses & confident advice about what it is that we should or shouldn’t do… You have to believe this...You can’t believe that… You can’t mention this or that… You should have this type of music or that type of children’s program… Maybe you’ve read those types of things?  And I think it would be naive to ignore where we are all as a church right now… But I also think that it would be naive & foolish to think that God will not continue to work at building a future.  And that future may not be what we thought it would be but it will still be… And so we cling to that hope of a future just as we work on building that future here & now.  

We don’t simply remember the legacy of those who have gone before us… We continue to move forward despite the uncertainty… inch by inch...step by step… moment by moment… And we don’t walk this crazy adventure all on our own… but we do this together… Remembering together… Holding hope together… Lifting each other up when we feel too tired to go on… Encouraging each other in the middle of doubts & fears… Moving forward together… A rag tag group of men & women who struggle day by day to build this future with hope.  I may not know how we’ll get there or what will happen, But in the middle of chaos & confusion, I’ll hold to the promise of God continuing to make things new & continuing to work in the act of redeeming creation...and I’ll claim my part in helping to making that new creation a reality… Because in the waters of our baptism, we are called into ministry with God… Co-creators… Building this new creation as a new creation together...inch by inch...step by step… moment by moment...